Thomas dark



4THOMAS DARK, OF BUFFALO, New? YORK.

Letters Patent No. 91,828, dated' ufae 29, 1869.

IMPROVED SEWER The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent andmaking part; of the same.

To all whom it 'may concern.-

nBe .it known that I, THOMAS DARK, of the city of Butfalo, in theconnty'of Erie and State of New York, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Flushing Drains, Vaults, and Sewers and I dohereby declare that the following is a full and exactdescriptionthereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, inwhich- Figure 1 is a vertical section of a vault and iiushing-apparatus.

Figure 2, a cross-vertical section of a vault.

Like letters designate similar parts in both figures.

My invention'- consists of the construction and ar rangement of parts,as hereinafter described, for automatically flushing drains, vaults, andsewers.

In the drawings- A represents the reservoir;

B, the enlarged month of the flushing-pipe C;

D, the vault; and

E, the drain leading thereom to the main sewer.

The sides of the vault are contracted at the bottom, as shown in g. 2,and has the bottom, at the discharge-end, curved or inclined upward, asshown at j, iig. 1, to facilitate the discharge of the contents of thevault into the mouth of the drain, which is located above the bottomv ofthe vault. The bottom of this outlet should be alittle higher than thetop of the Y inlet-opening at the opposite end, so that the water in thevault will ll the end of the llushing-pipe, 4and thereby prevent thegasfrom the former passing into the latter. j

Infront of the entrance to the drain is provided a certain valve orwall, g, which extends a little below a line horizontal with the bottomof the entrance, and, by dipping in the water in the vault, eiectuallyprevents the foul air and gases from the drain and sewer escaping intothe vault, while it prevents the free dis charge of the contents of thelatter.

' 'lhe reservoir A may be located at any convenient locality, and isconstructed substantially as represented. It is pivoted in any suitablemanner-that shown being two posts, H`, with gndgeons on each side, whichsupport and allow it to turn thereon.

It is so balanced that it will rest in the position shown in blacklines, on a cross-piece, t', or equivalent, until it has become filled,or nearly so, with water,

when the weight of the latter is sulicient to producea preponderance inthe opposite direction, (shown in red 1incs,) which causes the water toempty itself into the inouth B of the flushing-pipe..

The proper balancing of the reservoir may be readily e'ected byconstructing a space, lm, at the closed end pipe, will have acquired amomentum, by the time itv reaches the vault, adequate to force thecontents thereof into the drain E, and properly cleansethe former. Wherethe ground is sutiiciently inclined, thev reservoir-may be arranged in ahole in the same, so as not to extend above the surface.

The reservoir may be of Aany size required, and be supplied withwaterfrom any source, as most convenient, such, for instance, as the roof cfabuilding, which gradually collects therein till it becomes full, when itpreponderates and empties its contents into thev enlarged mouth B, fromwhence it rushes through the pipe O, into the contracted bottom of thevault, forcing its contents up and into the drain, which conducts it tothe main sewer or other final discharge. The reservoir'having becomeemptied of the water, which caused the preponderance, resumes its normalposition again, when the iilling and flushing are repeated, with alonger or shorter interval, according to the amount of supply tothereservoir. v,

lhe construction ofthe bottom of the vault enables the latter to be moreeffectually emptied of its cori^ tents, while the relative arrangementof the inlet and outlet-openings, with the bottom of the vault anddipping-.valve g, prevents the escape of foul air from the sewer intothe vault,and the passage of the gases generated in the latter up thepipe O. The depression of' the bottom of the vault below tiie entranceto the drain, prevents the heavier articles that may accidentally getinto the vault from being washed into and obstructing the drain andsewer. lhese may be readily hooked out or otherwise removed from the topof the Vault.

What I claim as my invention, is-

1. The reservoir A, pivoted to the uprights H, and

provided' with the space m, at its closed end, as 'and' for the purposesset forth.

2. The reservoir A, Bushing-pipe C, provided with an enlarged mouth, B,vault D,'and drain E, all constructed, arranged, and operated in themanner and for the purpose set forth.

In witness whereof, I haveV hereunto signed my name, in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS DARK. Witnesses:

ALBERT HAIGHT, JAY HYATT.

